Material handling basket



June 6, 1967 L. J. COWAN MATERIAL HANDLING BASKET Filed Sept. 1, 1964 INVEN TOR Lawrence J. Gown/1 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,323,673MATERIAL HANDLING BASKET Lawrence J. Cowan, 9231 N. Maple Lane, DesPlaines, Ill. 60016 Filed Sept. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 393,653 4 Claims. (Cl.217-) This invention relates to baskets, especially for the handling offoodstuffs, although they may used for the handling of any materialwhere a strong and sturdy nestable basket is desirable. Baskets of thistype receive rough handling and for the most part are continuously useduntil finally they give out. When used for the movement of foods,especially meats, the baskets are sterilized by steam cleaning, andbleached, periodically, even though they are used with paper liners.Furthermore, the basket must hold 200 pounds of meat and be able toWithstand the forces incident to dropping same from. the tail gates ofdelivery trucks.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to providea basket, designed and constructed for the purpose of storing and/ortransporting heavy materials or food products, which is rigid, sturdyand movable with comparative ease.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means in combinationwith the basket for nesting the baskets when not in use for theconservation of storage space.

There are other objects and advantages of the structure of my basketwhich will appear to those versed in the art from the followingdescription thereof when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawing forming part of this application and wherein like referencecharacters indicate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of my improved basket;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of FIG. 1 through one side wall of thebasket.

FIG. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pair of baskets as they would appearnested for storage purposes.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the basketof this invention is of the stacking type with sides and ends that flareoutwardly and upwardly from the rectangular bottom indicated generallyat This bottom is constructed of transverse slats, slightly spaced,which are of hard wood, for the most part of rugged elm, and secured attheir ends to the bottom rails 1212 of the sides, the end bottom slatsalso being secured to the bottom rails of the ends of the hasket. Thebottom rails of the sides and ends of the basket overlap at the cornersand are secured together. These bottom rails are of heavier hard woodmaterial, the same as the four top rails 14-14 of said sides and ends. Aplurality of intermediate slightly spaced slats 16 fill the spacebetween the top and bottom rails and are likewise joined togethersecurely at their ends. These intermediate slats 16 are not of as heavymaterial as the top and bottom rails but extend to the corners and aresecured at their ends to the corresponding slats of the sides and endsof the basket. The side edges of all side and end slats and rails aremade with a one-sixteenth inch radius on all four corners for smootherand splinter-free handling. Metal corner reinforcements 18 of angle ironconstruction are provided which extend on the four corners of the basketfrom the under edges of the top rails to the upper edges of the bottomrails. The ends of the flanges of the reinforcements 18 are cut off at aslight incline so as to snugly fit the edges of the rails and compensatefor the flare of the sides and ends of the basket. The

reinforcements are secured to the ends of the slats and rails by rivetsfor sturdiness of construction.

Inside the basket at the four corners thereof are wooden corner postswhich are square in cross section except that the innermost corner ischamfered as indicated clearly in FIGURE 4. The top side and end rails14 are secured to the side and end faces of the corner posts and the endof the end rail overlaps the end of the side rail and are secured to thecorner posts. The bottom margin of the side face of the post is cut awayor rabbeted to receive about one-half the width of the end margin of theside rail 12. The end margin of the end rail is rabbeted so as tooverlap the end face of the corner post and the end edge of the siderail 12 and is secured to said post. The intermediate slats 16 overlapthe corner posts, and the ends of the end slat 16 overlap the end edgesof the corresponding side slats 16 and are secured to the corner posts.

The corners of the top rails are reinforced by corner reinforcementswhich are in the form of metal angles 20 extending around the corners ofthe top and bottom rails and cut so that the edges are parallel with theedges of the rails. These angles 20 are also riveted to the rails of thebasket.

Intermediate of the corners of the basket are a plurality of narrowmetal straps 22 which extend transversely over the intermediate slats 16and are riveted thereto as shown. The upper ends of these straps passinwardly between the top rail and the adjacent intermediate slat 16 andare then turned upwardly against the inner surface of the top rail wherethey are riveted thereto. The lower ends of these straps 22 are turnedunder the lower edges of the bottom slats between the bottom slats andskids and secured thereto. These straps hold the slats 16 rigidly inplace and with the corner reinforcements provide exceptional rigidityand long life to the basket.

Furthermore, there are provided five parallel spaced wooden skids 24 onthe bottom of the basket, two of which are metal covered and which skidscontribute to the mobility of the invention. These skids extend from endto end of the baskets.

Any suitable form of handles are provided for convenient handling of thebasket, such as the rope handles 26, said handles being attached to theupper rails of the opposite ends of the basket.

For the purpose of permitting the improved baskets to be stacked oneupon another when loaded, my improved basket is provided with stackingunits 28,. one at each end of the top portion of the basket, which unitsextend transversely across the basket adjacent the ends thereof. Theseunits comprise metal rods, the opposite ends of which are pivotallysecured in journals on the metal corner reinforcements 20. Each end ofthe units, inwardly from its pivotal connection with the basket, is bentdownwardly a short distance and then extends across the basket, forminga sort of cradle on which the bottom of a nesting basket may rest. Whenthe baskets are not nested, the rods are pivoted so that they extendfrom side to side of the basket outside of the upper end rail, to notinterfere with the loading or unloading thereof.

Caster wheels as indicated at 30 may or may not be provided for mobilityand ease of handling.

From the above it is obvious that there has been provided a very strong,sturdy basket having long life even under the extreme abuse to whichsuch material handling baskets are subjected, and which may be stackedin either filled or empty position for conservation of storage space.

I claim:

1. A rigid material handling basket comprising a bottom and upwardlydiverging side and end walls, said bottom, side and end walls comprisedof spaced slats, secured at their ends, metal reinforcing anglesenclosing the meeting edges of said slats on the outer corners thereof,the flanges of said angles being secured by fastening means extendingthrough said flanges and slats, the upper slats provided with externalcorner reinforcements, stacking members pivotally secured at theiropposite ends in said external corner reinforcements and positionable ina first position extending across the basket adjacent the ends thereofor a second position extending outside the basket adjacent the endsthereof, and reinforcing straps intermediate said corner reinforcementsextending across the side and end slats, between the upper two slats andsecured at their upper ends to the inner faces of the upper slats, thelower ends of each of said straps being secured to the end of a bottomslat.

2. A basket as defined in claim 1, and corner posts on the insidecorners of said basket, said side and end slats being secured at theirends to each other and to said corner posts.

3. A basket as defined in claim 1, said bottom composed of transverseslats secured at their ends to the bottom edges of the lower side slatsand a plurality of spaced longitudinal skids secured to said bottomslats.

4. A rigid material handling basket comprising a bottom and upwardlydiverging side and end walls, said bottom, side and end walls comprisedof spaced slats, corner posts at the inner corners of said basket, saidslats being secured to said posts, metal reinforcing angles enclosingthe meeting edges of said slats on the outer corners thereof andextending between the upper and lower slats, fastening means securingsaid flanges and ends of said slats to said posts, a plurality of spacedlongitudinal skids secured to the bottom of said basket, the outer twoof said skids being metal clad, a plurality of reinforcing strapsextending across said slats, the upper ends thereof extending betweenthe upper two slats and secured to the inner surface of said upperslats, and the lower ends of said reinforcing straps extending betweensaid bottom and outer skids and secured thereto, reinforcing cornerangles about the corners of said upper slats, and stacking memberspivoted in said corners and extending in a first position transverselyof said basket adjacent the inner ends of said basket, to support asuperposed basket thereon, and in a second position transversely of saidbasket adjacent the outer ends of said basket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,077,834 11/1913 Justen 21751,927,275 9/1933 Brown 22097 2,013,151 9/1935 HenZ/e 217-13 X 2,224,81812/1940 Hovocka 2175 2,312,202 2/1943 Vanbeem 2l736 2,545,758 3/1951Best 22097 FOREIGN PATENTS 142,952 5/1961 U.S.S.R.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Examiner.

1. A RIGID MATERIAL HANDLING BASKET COMPRISING A BOTTOM AND UPWARDLYDIVERGING SIDE AND END WALLS, SAID BOTTOM, SIDE AND END WALLS COMPRISEDOF SPACED SLATS, SECURED AT THEIR ENDS, METAL REINFORCING ANGLESENCLOSING THE MEETING EDGES OF SAID SLATS ON THE OUTER CORNERS THEREOF,THE FLANGES OF SAID ANGLES BEING SECURED BY FASTENING MEANS EXTENDINGTHROUGH SAID FLANGES AND SLATS, THE UPPER SLATS PROVIDED WITH EXTERNALCORNER REINFORCEMENTS, STACKING MEMBERS PIVOTALLY SECURED AT THEIROPPOSITE ENDS IN SAID EXTERNAL CORNER REINFORCEMENTS AND POSITIONABLE INA FIRST POSITION EXTENDING ACROSS THE BASKET ADJACENT THE ENDS THEREOFOR A SECOND POSITION EXTENDING OUTSIDE THE BASKET ADJACENT THE ENDSTHEREOF, AND REINFORCING STRAPS INTERMEDIATE SAID CORNER REINFORCEMENTSEXTENDING ACROSS THE SIDE AND END SLATS, BETWEEN THE UPPER TWO SLATS ANDSECURED AT THEIR UPPER ENDS TO THE INNER FACES OF THE UPPER SLATS, THELOWER ENDS OF EACH OF SAID STRAPS BEING SECURED TO THE END OF A BOTTOMSLAT.